Eye assembly for panel fasteners



April 19, 1955 ,H. s. JONES EIAL 2,706,316

EYE ASSEMBLY FOR PANEL FASTENERS Filed May 17, 1954 Q "HQ Q mmvroxs Harold S. Jones. Gile s CZEVQJZS.

ATTURNLY United States Patent EYE ASSEMBLY FOR PANEL FASTENERS Harold S. Jones, Framingham, and Giles C. Evans, Boston, Mass., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Application May 17, 1954, Serial No. 430,464

4 Claims. (Cl. 20-92.7)

(Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to panel fasteners of the type usually employed in prefabricated refrlgeratorhousings, and has for its primary object to provide a relat1vely s1 mple and inexpensive eye or keeper assembly for recelvmg the swinging and sliding hook forming an operative part of such devices.

Another object of the invention conslsts In so designing and arranging the parts of the assembly that they may be easily stamped-up from sheet metal and may be readily and quickly assembled in final position at minrmumcost.

Other objects and advantages of the lnvention Wlll be apparent from the following descrlption when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in wh1ch,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the edges of a pair of panels about to be united and showing the elements of the eye assembly about to be assembled on the panel;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the adjoining edges of the pair of panels which have been united by the latch and eye assembly of the present nventlon;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the hue 33 of Figure 2; and,

Figure 4 is a plan view of the blank whlch 18 to be bent up to provide a bolster in the eye or keeper assembly.

More specifically, the numeral 1 lndicates generally one of the panels which is provided with a hook for cooperation with the keeper assembly mounted on the edge of the adjacent panel which is indicated by the reference numeral 2. As in most panels for use in prefabricated refrigerator housings the edges are formed of a tongue and groove construction. In the present illustration the panel 1 is formed with a groove 3 bounded by the lOl'lgltudinal ribs 4, and the panel 2 is provided wlth a tongue 5 to be seated within the groove 3. Gaskets 6 of clrcular cross section are formed with webs 7 by means of which the gaskets may be held in place through the medium of plates 8 which clamp the webs 7 against the edge of the panel. This construction is well known and forms no part of the present invention.

The eye or keeper assembly is composed solely of three elements, namely the eye portion 10, bolster 11 and arcuate spring 12. The eye or keeper is formed from a strip of sheet metal doubled upon itself to bring the end portions together in fiat engagement with each other and cut out to provide the eye 13. The intermediate portion of the sheet metal strip is shaped to provide a substantially rectangular open ended sleeve 14 for receiving the bolster and spring which will now be described. The bolster 11 is stamped up from a sheet metal blank as shown in Figure 4. This blank is composed of a plate portion 15 provided with end portions which are bent up to provide end flanges 16 to serve as stops for the ends of spring 12 as will appear hereinafter. Integrally connected with one edge of the plate 15 are web portions 17 from which extend side portions 18 provided with threaded openings 19 for threadedly receiving bolts 20 which anchor the bolster in position on the interior of the panel to which the keeper assembly is attached. Extending from opposite edges of the webs 17 are end plates 21 which when bent up at right angles to the webs 17 form, in conjunction with the side portions 18, box-like structures indicated generally by the numeral 22.

As will be readily understood it is highly desirable that the panels be permanently urged toward each other to provide the necessary sealing effect between the edges of the panel, not only when the parts are initially drawn together by the fastening means but also by resiliency in one or more of the fastening elements themselves. To this end the arcuate spring 12 forms the third element of the eye assembly of the present invention.

In assembling the parts the bolster 22 is passed into the open ended sleeve 14 of the eye portion so that the plate 15 may engage the front wall of the sleeve while the box-like sections 22, which are spaced apart the distance corresponding to the width of the sleeve, are directed toward the eye 13, as clearly suggested in Figure 1 and as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The arcuate spring 12 is also positioned within the sleeve 14 with its ends protruding therefrom and in engagement with the plate 15 as clearly indicated in Figure 2, and for the purpose of assisting in holding the spring in its proper relationship with the bolster and eye, kerfs 23 are stamped up from the upper and lower walls of the sleeve 14 so as to engage the inner surface of the spring at about its midportion.

The assembled eye or keeper just referred to is inserted into the end wall of its panel from the interior thereof as suggested in Figure l and for this purpose the end of the panel is provided with a cut out 24 into which the eye 13 is inserted, and the edge of the panel is further provided with an arcuate groove 25 so as to permit of the necessary movement of a hook 26 which is to be swung into and out of engagement with the eye 13 when the panels are to be drawn together or released, respectively.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that we have devised an exceedingly simple and inexpensive construction of eye or keeper for latches which is composed solely of three elements; that the parts are stamped-up from sheet metal; and that they may be readily and simply assembled and installed in the panels to which they are to be attached.

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described what we now consider to be the preferred form of the invention, but since various minor changes may be made in structural details without departing from the spirit of the invention it is intended that all such changes be included within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A keeper assembly for pivoted latches, comprising an eye portion formed of sheet metal doubled upon itself to provide a fiat end portion having an eye opening therein, the intermediate portion of the material being shaped to provide a substantially rectangular open-ended sleeve, a bolster formed of sheet metal shaped to provide a plate and two box-like end portions spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the Width of the sleeve, said plate being positioned in the sleeve with the box-like end portions directed toward the eye opening, and an arched leaf spring having its intermediate portion mounted in the sleeve with its ends in engagement with the respective ends of the plate.

2. A keeper assembly for pivoted latches, comprising an eye portion formed of sheet metal doubled upon itself to provide a flat end portion having an eye opening therein, the intermediate portion of the material being shaped to provide a substantially rectangular open-ended sleeve, a bolster formed of sheet metal shaped to provide a plate and two box-like end portions spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the sleeve, said plate being positioned in the sleeve with the box-like end portions directed toward the eye opening, an arched leaf spring having its intermediate portion mounted in the sleeve with its ends in engagement with the respective ends of the plate, and kerfs formed in the sleeve for engaging the intermediate portion of the spring.

3. A keeper assembly for pivoted latches, comprising an eye portion formed of sheet metal doubled upon itself to provide a fiat end portion having an eye opening therein, the intermediate portion of the material being shaped to provide a substantially rectangular open-ended sleeve,

a bolster formed from sheet metal blank bent up to provide an elnogated plate and two box-like end portions spaced apart a distance at least as great as the Width of the sleeve, said plate being positioned in the sleeve with the box-like end portions directed toward the eye opening, and an arched leaf spring having its intermediate portion mounted in the sleeve with its ends in engagement with the respective ends of the plate.

4. A keeper assembly for pivoted latches, comprising an eye portion formed of sheet metal doubled upon itself to provide a fiat end portion having an eye opening therein, the intermediate portion of the material being shaped to provide a substantially rectangular open-ended sleeve, a bolster formed of sheet metal shaped to provide a plate and two box-like end portions spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the sleeve, said plate References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,250,574 Ferris Dec. 18, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS 77,088 Switzerland Nov. 12, 1917 561,248 Germany Oct. 12, 1932 

